RNC Claims More Fans Watched UFC Freedom 250 Than Super Bowl

Apparently, UFC Freedom 250 was the most-watched sporting event of the year.

There was plenty of buzz surrounding UFC Freedom 250 since it took place on the South Lawn of the White House. It also helps that a stacked card was put together for this event. Justin Gaethje upset Ilia Topuria in the main event to win the lightweight title, Ciryl Gane took down Alex Pereira via second-round TKO, and Sean O'Malley picked up a victory over Aiemann Zahabi.

While there's no question UFC generated a ton of traction online, some people may have gone overboard with their commentary.

Joe Gruters, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, said on Fox News that UFC's latest event had more viewers than this year's Super Bowl.

"I think more people watched it [UFC Freedom 250] than watched the Super Bowl," Gruters said.

Nielsen reported that Super Bowl LX between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks averaged 125.6 million viewers on NBC. It was just short of FOX's viewership average (127.7 million people) for Super Bowl LIX.

What's next for the UFC?

UFC president Dana White said the Freedom 250 event was a success in every possible way.

"I love this country, and this event was for America's 250th birthday. There was no political agenda or anything like that," White said. "The fact that the president of the United States trusted me, they could have had anything. There's tons of things going on in this city up until July 4 to celebrate. The fact that he trusted me to do this and to deliver tonight and we did."

That being said, UFC isn't expected to return to the White House ever again simply because this event cost the MMA promotion a ton of money.

"I can't afford it," White said. "I'll never do the Sphere again, and we'll never do this again."

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This story was originally published June 17, 2026 at 12:44 PM.